Free Racing Hearts by Melissa West Page A

Emery stared at her friend, a part of her wishing she could make the decision for her. Why couldn’t life be that easy?
    â€œI think you will never get on another horse if you stay at home. But I think . . . if you go with Trip, if you take that leap, you could be something amazing, Emery Jane Carlisle. This is your chance.”
    Tears welled in Emery’s eyes, and she brushed the heel of her hand over her cheeks. “Well, I don’t have to decide today.”
    Silence fell between them again, and then Kate said, “So, has enough time passed for me to ask the real question on my mind?”
    Emery rested her head back against the seat, hesitating. She knew her friend would eventually question her about Trip. She just didn’t know how she would answer. Seeing him again had brought all those old emotions to the surface.
    â€œGo ahead. I was waiting for it.”
    â€œOh, come on now,” Kate said. “Don’t be like that. You would be the same exact way if it were me.”
    Emery smiled at the thought. “Yeah, probably.”
    â€œDoes that mean I can continue without getting crucified?”
    â€œGo already.”
    Kate squealed loudly. “Good! Tell me everything you know about him.”
    â€œHim? Trip? He’s—”
    â€œNot Trip. The brother.”
    â€œWhat?” Emery’s eyes went wide and she turned toward her friend. “No. No, no, no. You can’t get involved with Alex Hamilton.”
    â€œWhy not? I’m not a jockey. My daddy isn’t their competitor. The way I see it, I’m just an innocent bystander to this whole disaster.”
    â€œHey! It’s not a disaster.”
    Kate laughed. “Oh, it’s capital D disaster.”
    â€œBut you said—”
    â€œOh, I still think you should do it. Sometimes we know the crash is coming, but we’ve still gotta go through with the ride. Learning, and all that crap. That’s why I went out with Chris Dickens.”
    Emery hit the radio dial, leaving the car in sudden silence. “Wait, what? When did you go out with Chris Dickens?”
    â€œLast night.”
    â€œLast night? And you’re just now telling me this.”
    Shrugging, Kate reached for her bottle of water and took a long pull before dropping it back in the cup holder. “You had a lot going on, and besides, it wasn’t a big deal.”
    Somehow it bothered Emery more than it should that her friend hadn’t told her. She didn’t want to be this complex, chaotic mess who became detached from the rest of the world. She crossed her arms and peered over, studying Kate’s face. “Well, how did it go?”
    She shrugged again. “Fine, I guess. We kissed. It was . . . interesting.” Her shoulders shook a bit, and then she was laughing. “God, who am I kidding? It was horrible.”
    â€œHorrible?”
    â€œHe did the whole lizard thing. You know, the—” She stuck her tongue out rapidly, and Emery burst out laughing.
    â€œOh, no.”
    â€œOh, yes.”
    â€œSo what are you going to do?”
    They turned onto the main stretch toward Carlisle Farms, and Kate smiled over at her, but it didn’t reach her eyes the way it should. “I don’t know. It’s something, right?”
    Emery slowly shook her head. “No. It isn’t enough to be just okay. It needs to rock your world. The whole sparks-flying thing, or it isn’t worth it.”
    Kate parked outside the guesthouse and peered over at Emery. “I don’t know if that’s real. I’ve never felt sparks. Have you?”
    A flash hit her of the moon high above, a slight chill in the air, of Trip laying her back onto a blanket, his lips pressed to hers. Emery wasn’t sure if it was possible to feel love at seventeen, but she’d felt something amazing that night, something so intense that it scared her. Still scared her.
    â€œYeah . . . I think I